At the Thursday, June 28 BOE meeting, Superintendent Larry Mussoline made a Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying presentation.
Following an incident where an HMHS lacrosse player allegedly directed a racial slur at a black Sterling High School female track athlete, some residents have been asking what protocols the school district has in place to handle these situations.
At the Thursday, June 28 BOE meeting, Superintendent Larry Mussoline made a Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying presentation and delved into the details of what HIB means and how HIB situations are handled in the school district.
Every school in the state has a staff member who is identified as an HIB specialist. This staff member is trained to investigate all issues regarding any gesture that is “reasonably perceived” as being motivated by either actual or perceived characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation and others, according to Board President Adam Sangillo.
“According to New Jersey law … we shall report to the school district all aspects of harassment, intimidation and bullying which occured to the previous report period,” Mussoline said.
In the presentation, Mussoline said there were 36 reports in all schools and 19 confirmed cases in the district in the 2017–18 school year.
Of the 19 incidents, the district encountered three confirmed racial incidents; one incident based off of religion; one involving ancestry; one origin; three involving gender; two sexual orientation cases; three disability cases; and five “other” cases.
According to Mussoline, “other” could qualify as comments made about one’s weight or personal hygiene.
“All of HIB has got to fit into one of those categories,” Mussoline said. “It’s only HIB if it’s race, religion, ancentory or sexual orientation … it’s really difficult for some people to understand.”
Pulling someone’s hair, fighting or even calling someone a name does meet the criteria of being labeled an HIB; however, that does not mean the school will not have ramifications for bullying that does not fall under an HIB incident.
“I think it’s clear to say that just because it’s not an HIB doesn’t mean it’s not punished,” Board member David Siedell said.
Of the confirmed incidents, two were from Central Middle School; three from Tatem; seven from Haddonfield Middle School; and seven from Haddonfield Memorial High School.
Mussoline highlighted the initiatives taking place from kindergarten to fifth grade, some include morning meetings on belonging in the community, the “One School One Book” program, counseling friendship groups and teaching strategies where K-5 teachers teach three lessons per year on diversity, including tolerance, belonging and acceptance.
Initiatives in grades six to 12 are also put in place to decrease the likelihood of HIB cases occurring, such as an anti-bullying unit taught in a freshman health class, educational meetings with students and school-wide assemblies among others.
“I think we should bring parents into the school and teach them what HIB is,” Mussoline said. “In the month I have been here, I have had some heated discussions with parents on what HIB is and what it isn’t.”
